Spring biased arrow rests

ABSTRACT

An arrow rest is provided to be suitably attached, as by the use of pressure-sensitive adhesive, to an archery bow and includes a swingable arrow support and an adjustable support-positioning mechanism which cooperate together to support and selectively locate the arrow a predetermined distance from the side of the bow; the support and adjustable positioning mechanism further serve to cushion or dampen the inherent side thrust of the arrow upon its release from the bowstring. The positioning mechanism has a single yieldable element in the form of a compression spring which serves the dual purpose of continuously urging the support in the direction of its arrow-supporting position prior to the release of the arrow and, by virtue of its interconnection with the support, to cushion the side thrust of the arrow after its release and during the time that the arrow is traversing the support while at the same time permitting the support to yield so as not to impede or alter the flight of the arrow as the fletching or other stabilizing structure of the arrow passes by the support.

tlnite States Patent [191 Finlay [11] 3,828,757 [451 Aug. 13, 1974 1 SlPRlNG BHASED ARROW RESTS [76] Inventor: Robert L. Finlay, 325 Garfield St.,

Emporia, Kans. 66801 [22] Filed: Nov. 15, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 306,696

Primary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Schmidt, Johnson, l-lovey & Williams [57] ABSTRACT An arrow rest is provided to be suitably attached, as

by the use of pressure-sensitive adhesive, to an archery bow and includes a swingable arrow support and an adjustable support-positioning mechanism which cooperate together to support and selectively locate the arrow at predetermined distance from the side of the bow; the support and adjustable positioning mechanism further serve to cushion or dampen the inherent side thrust of the arrow upon its release from the bowstring. The positioning mechanism has a single yieldable element in the form of a compression spring which serves the dual purpose of continuously urging the support in the direction of its arrow-supporting position prior to the release of the arrow and, by virtue of its interconnection with the support, to cushion the side thrust of the arrow after its release and during the time that the arrow is traversing the support while at the same time permitting the support to yield so as not to impede or alter the flight of the arrow as the fletching or other stabilizing structure of the arrow passes by the support.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SPRING IBIIASEI) ARROW lRlES'IS This invention relates to an adjustable cushion arrow rest of the kind commonly employed to control the flight path of an arrow as the latter is released from the bowstring of an archery bow. Devices of this nature are for purposes of properly positioning the arrow prior to release from the bowstring in order to aim the arrow such that it strikes the target as intended rather than to the right or left of a desired point of impact and for providing a cushion to reduce the inherent bending and whipping action of the arrow which is caused by side thrust when the arrow is released and is referred to as the archers paradox by those skilled in the art. It is highly desirable to reduce this bending of the arrow to a minimum in order that the flight of the arrow be smooth and true. Another problem encountered is that of the feathers or other stabilizing structure of the arrow striking the support with sufficient force to cause the arrow to have poor flight characteristics.

It is, therefore, a very important object of my invention to provide an adjustable cushion arrow rest having a positioning means which is not only adjustable to selectively predetermine the distance from the side of the bow at which the arrow is positioned prior to its release, but which also is adjustable to serve as a cushion to selectively dampen the deflection of the arrow upon its release from the bow.

A still further very important object of the invention is the provision of an arrow rest in which a single, adjustable and yieldable element is utilized to maintain the arrow rest in its arrow-supporting position, as well as to provide a yieldable cushion to dampen the side thrust of the arrow upon its release.

Yet a further important object of the inventionis to provide an arrow rest which is capable ofswinging in response to the side thrust of the arrow to a position in which the support offers little or no resistance to the fletching or other stabilizing structure of the arrow as it leaves the bow.

A still further important object of the instant invention is the provision of an arrow rest which will return to its original arrow-supporting position after the arrow has passed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an infinitely adjustable arrow rest which will allow the use of more than one arrow size with the same bow, thus making it possible to achieve a good arrowflight with arrows of a size other than that intended to beshot with a particular bow having a specific draw weight.

Another object of my invention is the provision of, an adjustable cushion arrow rest which is relatively inexpensive and easy to adjust and use.

In the drawing:

FIG. I is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a bow having an adjustable cushion arrow rest, made pursuant to the present invention, affixed in thesight window of the bow;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed, side elevational view of the bow illustrating the arrow rest in its normal arrow-supporting configuration;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed, rear elevational view illustrating the arrow rest attached to the sight window of the bow and showing the shaft of an arrow in phantom;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed plan view of the arrow rest as it would appear when attached to a bow and in its arrow-receiving and supporting position, portions of the bow being shown in sectionand an arrow shaft illustrated in phantom;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan-view similar to that of FIG. 4 illustrating the arrow support as-it would appear after the arrow has been releasedand the supporthas shifted in the direction of the side .of the bow in response to the side thrust of the arrow,'the arrow again being shown in phantom;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, detailed side elevational view of the arrow rest, portions thereof broken away and shown in section to reveal details of construction;

FIG.7 is a vertical, cross-sectional view taken along line 7-'7 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 6.

An arrow rest, broadly designated by the numeral 10, is comprised of a faceplate or mounting-member 12, a

movablesupport 114 for an arrow 16, and an adjustable positioner 18 for the support 114. The member 12 is provided with a layer of double-faced, self-adhesive material on one side thereof for attachment of the rest 10 in the sight window 22 of an archery bow 24. The rest 10 is positioned near the lower end of the sight window22, as best seen in FIG. 1, in a manner to receive the arrow 16 in its proper disposition relative to the window 22 and the bow 24.

Themember 12 includes an upright boss 28 disposed on a face 30 of the member 12, opposite the adhesive 20, to receive the support 14 and serve as a hinge therefor. Thepositioner 18 is contained within an elongated, tubular housing 34, also a part of the member 12, located along the normally lower extremity of the face 30 and perpendicular to the boss'28. The member 12, boss 28 and housing 34 are bonded together and'may'be -42with the axis 36; and a normally horizontally disposed arrow-supporting stretch 46 extending forwardly at an angle from the lower end of the length 42. The stretch 46 is formed such that an angle of less than as measured from the side of the sight window 22, is formed while the lever arm 38 is perpendicular tothe side of the bow 24, this particularconfiguration being best illustrated by FIG. 6. It will be further notedwith reference to FIG. 6 that the length 42 is disposed in a substantially parallel, spaced relationship to the axis36 and is spaced outwardly from the member 12 forwardly of the axis 36. Attention is also directed to the fact that the lever arm 38 and the arrow-supporting stretch 46 are spaced-apart on horizontally parallel planes.

The extension .of the lever arm 38 into the slot 40 prevents the support 14 from moving vertically inthe boss 28 :while still permitting the swinging of the support about its vertical axis. If desired, a very thin piece of rubber or plastic tubing 26 may he slipped over the support 14 in the areas of the stretch 46 and the length 42, this being the region of contact with the arrow 16.

The positioner 18 is comprised of an adjustable stop 48 slidably positioned in the bore 32 of the housing 34 and in a normally rearward relationship with respect to the lever arm 38. The bore 32 is partially threaded to receive a socket set-screw 50 which may be used to selectively position the stop 48 relative to the housing 34.

Disposed within the bore 32 forwardly of the lever arm 38 and opposite the stop 48 is a selectively adjustable bias means in the nature of a compression spring 52 in abutment with a spacer 54 located between the lever arm 38 andthe spring 52. A second socket setscrew 56 cooperates with a second threaded portion of the bore 32 to compress and adjustably tension the spring 52, the intervening distance between the two socket set-screws 50 and 56 at opposite ends of the bore 32 determining the extent of compression of the spring 52 and the disposition of the support 14 relative to the face 30 of the member 12.

In operation, the arrow rest is affixed in the sight window 22 of the bow 24 such that the arrow-receiving and supporting stretch 46 is in a forwardly extending disposition and in a generally transverse relationship to the arrow 16 when the latter is in engagement with a bowstring (not shown) of the bow 24. Note also that support 14 is under a continuous bias from the spring 52 in the direction of the stop 48 such that the stretch 46 is maintained in the arrow-supporting position as seen in FIG. 4.

The distance from the side of the bow at which the arrow is supported by the stretch 46 is determined by the position at which the stop 48 is retained by the setscrew 50 with the lever arm 38 being interposed between the stop 48 and the spacer 54. It should be understood that the further the stop 48 is shifted in a forward direction, to the left when viewing FIG. 6, the closer the stretch 46 is to the member 12 and the side of the sight 22, while conversely, the arrow may be positioned further from the side of the sight 22 by shifting the stop 48 rearwardly, to the right, permitting the lever arm 38 to also move rearwardly about the axis 36 under the influence of the spring 52 and spacer 54.

Upon release of the arrow 16 the support 14 swings or shifts from its arrow-supporting position as seen in FIG. 5 in response to the inherent side thrust of the arrow caused by the force with which the bowstring thrusts the arrow into its trajectory. The length 42 at this time serves as a pressure point against which the arrow presses because of its side thrust, this pressure point now serving to dampen the extent of thrust by virtue of the influence of the spring 52 on the support 14. The resistance to the side thrust which the length 42 exerts is directly related to the adjustment of the spring 52; that is, the higher the compression of the spring 52 as determined by the effective distance between the two socket setscrews, the greater the resistance is to the side thrust of the arrow while, on the other hand, the less relative compression of the spring 52 the less resistance there will be to the side thrust and the easier it will be for the arrow to override the force of the spring and move the support 14 to a position as seen in FIG. 5.

The forward angular projection of the stretch 46 permits the fletching or other stabilizing structure (not shown) of the arrow 16 to traverse the support 46 with a minimum of resistance in order that the flight of the arrow is not appreciably affected and, depending on the severity of the side thrust of the arrow as compared to the opposite bias of the spring 52, the support 14 may be shifted a sufflcient distance in the direction of the face 30 at the time of release to permit the stabilizing structure to clear the support 14 before the latter has time to automatically return to its arrow-receiving and supporting position.

The arrow rest 10 very simply and inexpensively permits the user to tune an arrow to a bow thus allowing for a greater selection of arrow sizes to be used with a particular bow than would otherwise be possible. The extent to which the side thrust of the arrow is cushioned or dampened can be easily adjusted through the simple manipulation of the positioning means to control the amount of compression on the spring 52 and its resultant resistant effect on the support 14. The fact that the spring 52 is also an integral part of the positioner 18 makes it possible to maintain the proper biasing tension on the support 14 regardless of the positioning of the same relative to the sight window 22. In other words, a single mechanism in the form of the positioner 18 having but a single yieldable element not only provides for the spacing of the arrow from the bow, but also provides for the cushioning of the same as it begins its flight. Not to be overlooked further is the fact that the yieldable nature of the support 14 also permits the fletching of the arrow to pass by the support without being appreciably deflected or restricted, thereby removing one of the detriments to obtaining a true flight by the arrow.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. For use with a bow and an arrow, an adjustable arrow rest comprising:

a mounting member adapted to be afflxed to said bow;

a movable arrow support carried by said member for swinging movement about a normally upright axis; and

adjustable positioner means carried by said member and coupled with said support for biasing the support into a normal, arrow-receiving and supporting position to hold an arrow in a selectively predetermined, spaced relationship to said bow when the arrow is in engagement with a bowstring,

said positioner means including selectively adjustable bias means for varying the degree of bias against said support in the direction of said normal arrow receiving and supporting position prior to release of an arrow and to cushion the side thrust of an arrow upon release of the same from a bowstring,

said biasing means including a single yieldable element,

said arrow support including an upright, laterally shiftable arrow engaging length spaced away from said upright axis for locating an arrow in said spaced relationship,

said length terminating in a normally horizontally disposed, arrow-supporting stretch extending outwardly from said axis and shiftable in unison with said length about said axis when said support swings about its axis to an arrow cushioning and clearing position in response to the side thrust of the arrow upon release of the same.

2. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said element is a compression spring.

3. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said positioner means includes an adjustable stop in association with said spring for positively determining said arrow supporting position.

4. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stretch is in a generally transverse disposition relative to said arrow when in supportive engagement therewith and is in a generally longitudinal disposition relative to said arrow when shifted in said forward direction.

5. An arrow rest as claimed in claim ll, wherein said length is disposed forwardly of and in a substantially parallel, offset, spaced relationship to said upright axis.

6. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 5, wherein said length is spaced from said mounting member when said support is in said arrow-supporting position and is shifted laterally to a position adjacent said member in response to said side thrust.

7. For use with a bow and arrow, an adjustable arrow rest comprising:

a mounting member adapted to be affixed to said bow;

a movable arrow support carried by said member for swinging movement about a normally upright axis;

and

adjustable positioner carried by said member and coupled with said support for biasing the support into a normal, arrow-receiving and supporting position to hold said arrow in a selectively predetermined, spaced relationship to said bow when an arrow is in engagement with a bowstring,

said positioner means including selectively adjustable bias means for varying the degree of bias against said support in the direction of said normal arrow receiving and supporting position to cushion the side thrust of an arrow upon release of the same from a bowstring,

said support being forwardly shiftable in the direction of said member at those times said side thrust is of a sufficient magnitude to override said bias means thereby permitting a stabilizing structure of said arrow to clear said support with a minimum of resistance as an arrow traverses the support,

said positioner including an adjustable means for varying the normal arrow receiving positions of the adjustable positioner,

said support being formed in one piece and including a normally horizontally disposed arrow-supporting stretch which swings in said forward direction in response to the side thrust of a released arrow,

said support further including a generally upright means spaced from a bow and shiftable with said horizontal arrow support to present a yieldable pressure point for the cushioning of an arrow after the release of an arrow,

said support including a lever arm perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said support and interposed between said biasing means and said adjustable means.

fg-g g? ;UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PattentNo- 3,828,757 Dated A g st-13,197 1 I Invent Robert I;-

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

T Patent Title, delete the word "RESTS and substitute the -word -]REST Column 5, line 26, after the word "positioner'l' insert the word means Y Column 6, after line 13,;insert as a paragraph of Claim 7 said adjustable bias means varying the degree of bias against said support in the direction of said position prior to said release of the latter and to provide said cushioning of the side thrust of an arrow upon the release of the same,' line 1, after the word "positioner" insert the word means Signed"and sealed this lothaay of December 1974.

(SEAL) Attest: I

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR. 1 c. MARSHALLQDANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. For use with a bow and an arrow, an adjustable arrow rest comprising: a mounting member adapted to be affixed to said bow; a movable arrow support carried by said member for swinging movement about a normally upright axis; and adjustable positioner means carried by said member and coupled with said support for biasing the support into a normal, arrowreceiving and supporting position to hold an arrow in a selectively predetermined, spaced relationship to said bow when the arrow is in engagement with a bowstring, said positioner means including selectively adjustable bias means for varying the degree of bias against said support in the direction of said normal arrow receiving and supporting position prior to release of an arrow and to cushion the side thrust of an arrow upon release of the same from a bowstring, said biasing means including a single yieldable element, said arrow support including an upright, laterally shiftable arrow engaging length spaced away from said upright axis for locating an arrow in said spaced relationship, said length terminating in a normally horizontally disposed, arrow-supporting stretch extending outwardly from said axis and shiftable in unison with said length about said axis when said support swings about its axis to an arrow cushioning and clearing position in response to the side thrust of the arrow upon release of the same.
 2. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said element is a compression spring.
 3. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said positioner means includes an adjustable stop in association with said spring for positively determining said arrow supporting position.
 4. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stretch is in a generally transverse disposition relative to said arrow when in supportive engagement therewith and is in a generally longitudinal disposition relative to said arrow when shifted in said forward direction.
 5. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said length is disposed forwardly of and in a substantially parallel, offset, spaced relationship to said upright axis.
 6. An arrow rest as claimed in claim 5, wherein said length is spaced from said mounting member when said support is in said arrow-supporting position and is shifted laterally to a position adjacent said member in response to said side thrust.
 7. For use with a bow and arrow, an adjustable arrow rest comprising: a mounting member adapted to be affixed to said bow; a movable arrow Support carried by said member for swinging movement about a normally upright axis; and adjustable positioner carried by said member and coupled with said support for biasing the support into a normal, arrow-receiving and supporting position to hold said arrow in a selectively predetermined, spaced relationship to said bow when an arrow is in engagement with a bowstring, said positioner means including selectively adjustable bias means for varying the degree of bias against said support in the direction of said normal arrow receiving and supporting position to cushion the side thrust of an arrow upon release of the same from a bowstring, said support being forwardly shiftable in the direction of said member at those times said side thrust is of a sufficient magnitude to override said bias means thereby permitting a stabilizing structure of said arrow to clear said support with a minimum of resistance as an arrow traverses the support, said positioner including an adjustable means for varying the normal arrow receiving positions of the adjustable positioner, said support being formed in one piece and including a normally horizontally disposed arrow-supporting stretch which swings in said forward direction in response to the side thrust of a released arrow, said support further including a generally upright means spaced from a bow and shiftable with said horizontal arrow support to present a yieldable pressure point for the cushioning of an arrow after the release of an arrow, said support including a lever arm perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said support and interposed between said biasing means and said adjustable means. 